A 36-year-old tourist from Newark, N.J., was arrested yesterday after he climbed over a White House fence to get a better picture of the mansion, a spokesman for the Secret Service reported.

Leopold Purwin, who said he was visiting Washington with a tour group from New Jersey, was charged with unlawful entry, police said. Purwin was being held yesterday at a D.C. police precinct while awaiting an appearance before the magistrate.

Robert Snow, a Secret Service spokesman, said Purwin was arrested at 3:50 p.m. after he scaled the gate on the Pennsylvania Avenue side of the White House. He did it "to get a better picture," Snow said.